The Proposal
by Tigers and Dragons
Summary: Because only Karin is crazy enough to slap a guy for proposing, and only Suigetsu is stubborn enough to try it again.


**Standard Disclaimer**

* * *

**The Proposal**

* * *

"So, how about it, Karin? Will you marry me?" Suigetsu asked, going down on one knee in front of her. He held up a small box, the ring glinting under the fairy lights.

Karin looked down at him, feeling the weight of everyone's stares as they waited for her answer. The pressure to say 'yes' was pissing her off.

There was a sound of flesh hitting flesh, and the look of hope disappeared from his face.

"How dare you?" She seethed, her voice rising in strength and volume, "How dare you ask me that and put all this pressure on me!"

"It isn't a difficult question!" He shot back, leaping to his feet, the ring box clenched tightly in his hand. "The answer is either, 'yes, Suigetsu, I'd love to marry you', or 'no, Suigetsu, I won't'!"

Karin's mouth snapped shut as her retort was swallowed. Her face, which had been flushed, paled suddenly. Tears appeared in her eyes and he swallowed painfully.

"Karin…" He whispered, reaching for her as she turned and fled the room. He stepped after her, before noticing that their bizarre emotional tableau still held the attention their guests.

As the sound of a car racing away permeated the party, Suigetsu growled in frustration and stalked away.

* * *

Karin looked up at the knock on her door. She turned away as it slowly opened.

"Karin?"

"What is it?" She asked dully.

"Well…" Kin began, only to be interrupted when the door banged against the wall, fully opened.

"When are you going to stop this fucking moping shit and say yes to the shark boy?" Tayuya demanded, brushing passed Kin and dragging Karin up from her bed.

"What if I don't want to say yes?" Karin challenged her foster sister, shoving her off and taking a belligerent stance. "What if I don't want to marry that smug, arrogant prick?"

"If that were the case, you wouldn't be pissing the rest of us off by moping about, sighing and crying and shit."

Karin was taken aback for a moment, her eyes flicking to Kin who nodded sadly. She rallied weakly.

"What if I'm just sad that it's over?"

"Oh, please!" Tayuya waved her hand around as if to disperse the ridiculous notion. "That jerkoff would take you back in a heartbeat. Where else would he find someone to care for his sorry arse?"

Before she had finished that sentence, Karin had leaped at her, incensed by the slur to both herself and her (ex?) boyfriend. She attempted to beat the other girl's head against the wall, repeatedly, throwing Kin off when she tried to intervene.

It was only after the boys surrounded the room and began calling bets, that the commotion brought Dr Orochimaru from his office. As he intervened, Karin managed to utter one coherent sentence.

"Tayuya, you're such a fucking bitch."

* * *

"Hey man! You okay?"

Suigetsu glanced up from his seat on the back steps of his house to find Naruto and Sasuke hovering over him. He shifted to make room for them, nodding an acknowledgement to Sasuke.

Naruto, he ignored.

He continued to ignore him as the blond spewed forth his great wisdom on how to solve all the romantic issues that plagued mankind since time immemorial. Suigetsu just wasn't in the mood for that gooey, emotional crap.

Sasuke remained silent, for which Suigetsu was grateful. However, he would have been more grateful if his friend hadn't brought the chatterbox over to cheer him up in the first place.

Thankfully, Naruto's attention span ran out and he was hit by a sudden, and massive, craving for ramen, and so, bailed. Sasuke was quick to follow suit, once his phone went off. Suigetsu waved them off from the front sidewalk, watching as their cars disappeared into the early evening.

A cool wind blew passed and he sighed, running a hand through his hair and looking up at the sky.

He'd just turned to walk back inside when a van screeched to a halt next to him and he was dragged inside.

* * *

"I have to say, Karin, that I'm quite disappointed with your behaviour."

"I'm sorry, sir." Karin replied quietly, shrinking under the penetrating gaze of her legal guardian.

Dr Orochimaru, of Orochimaru's Home for Troubled Teens, sighed, "It isn't just your assault on Tayuya."

He sighed again and Karin cringed in her seat.

"You were making such progress with your anger management."

"She started it." Karin muttered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, sir."

"Hmmm." He regarded her closely, "Then there's the incident at that party last week."

Karin shrank in her chair. She didn't want to talk to him about that, no matter how many psychiatry degrees he had. She couldn't even discuss it with herself.

"Do you have anything to say about it, Karin?"

"No, sir." She said quietly, hoping that he would leave it at that.

"Do you want to know what I think happened?"

"Not particularly." Karin muttered.

Orochimaru's face dropped, "Now, Karin, how will you move forward if you can't overcome your past?"

Karin ducked her head so he wouldn't see her grimace.

"I know it's difficult. Losing your parents as you did, at such a young age… opening yourself to others has always been a struggle for you."

Karin shuddered, wondering how professional people could get away with spouting this crap. Unfortunately, he mistook her shudder of disgust for emotional turmoil. He leaned forward, determined to extract her deepest fears so he could clean up her psyche.

"I want you to tell me what happened at the party."

* * *

Suigetsu was fuming.

He had just spent the last half hour on the floor, in the back of the van, with a bag over his head and his hands cuffed behind him.

And if the smell was anything to go by, he'd been abducted by Karin's foster brothers.

"If this is because Karin got mad at me, I'm going to kill the lot of you." He growled.

The volume of noise in the car dropped to the low hum of the motor as his abductors stared at each other with 'how did he know it was us?' looks.

Then Jirobo leaned over to Kidomaru and ordered, "Take us to the house," in an ominous tone.

Suigetsu swore as he fell sideways, the van taking a violent turn and speeding off through the streets.

* * *

"And I just couldn't take it anymore!" Karin fake sobbed into her hands, "So, I ran away."

She glanced through her fingers to see if Orochimaru was buying it.

He wasn't.

"And he…" She pretended to struggle for breath, "He… he didn't chase me!"

She covered her face, making crying noises and sniffling loudly.

Orochimaru watched her quietly as she prolonged her hysterics. Movement in the courtyard drew his attention away momentarily; the van had arrived. He knew it was time to wrap things up with her, before she started to hyperventilate.

"Karin." He said softly, playing along with her, "He did try to follow you."

She sniffed, once for real because the fake crying was making her nose run, the second time for effect. "Well, he could have tried harder."

"An attitude like that pushes people away, Karin." He said sternly, "You need to relax and release your anger. The world is not trying to harm you. There are good people out there and you should open yourself to them."

"Oh no." Karin whimpered, seeing the building intensity of Orochimaru's psychological fervour and not liking it one bit.

"Yes!" He cried, standing up from his desk and drawing her to her feet, "Open yourself up to others! Release your true emotions!"

"Please, Sir. Don't…" She protested as he all but dragged her from his office.

"Karin, this is for your own good." He led her down the stairwell, then down a corridor. "Face your fears, tonight!"

"NO!" She yelled, clawing at his hand still wrapped around her upper arm. This was going from bad to worse, and whatever he had planned for her, she wanted to no part of it.

"Yes, Karin!" He whirled her round as he stopped at a closed door, leaning over her and speaking directly into her ear, "Embrace another and find yourself!"

Karin cringed away from him, afraid that the madness was infectious. He smiled down at her maliciously.

"And this time," He said as he shoved her inside, "say 'yes'!"

* * *

Suigetsu blinked in the sudden onslaught of light as the bag was removed from his head.

The first thing he saw was the door opposite his seat opened and someone was shoved inside.

Someone with flaming red hair and glasses.

"Karin!" He gasped.

She stumbled forward, catching herself on the table in front of him, "Suigetsu?"

She stared at him, guilt and regret evident on her face. Then she noticed that he hadn't moved and that his hands appeared to be tied behind his back. And she became very angry.

"What the fuck are you arseholes playing at?" She snarled, regarding her foster brothers with aggravated contempt.

"You said she wouldn't get mad!" Juugo whispered, before racing out of the room, screaming, "I'm innocent! Don't hurt me!"

The other young men looked at each other and shrugged. As scary as Karin made herself out to be, Tayuya was still top bitch in their books, and this plan had her approval. Which was why Karin soon found herself flanked by Sakon and Ukon and neatly tied to a chair opposite her former boyfriend and would-be husband.

"We all agree that this has gone on long enough." Kidomaru announced, folding his arms across his chest and presenting a menacing façade. Suigetsu would have laughed if he hadn't been struggling against his bindings.

"What?" Karin squawked.

The boys ignored her, turning to Suigetsu, who promptly stopped struggling.

"Now you, Suigetsu. You're going to ask her to marry you again." Kidomaru ordered.

"And you, Karin," Jirobo added, as the twins pointed at her dramatically, "are going to accept."

Suigetsu scowled and Karin snarled, "And if I don't want to?"

"Stop the act, Karin."

"Tayuya!" Karin hissed, swinging her head around to glare at the older girl.

"We all know you'd spend all night on your knees in front of him," Tayuya sneered, "just to say you're sorry."

Suigetsu choked, pulling his knees together and trying to rid himself of that mental image. Now was not the time.

Karin scowled, "Brave words, considering I'm tied up!"

Seeing that the situation was about to go out of control, which would leave him tied up for longer than he cared for, Suigetsu interrupted.

"Look, I appreciate the…"

"Shut up, Suigetsu!" Karin hissed.

"Fuck off, Karin!" He snarled back.

Karin bit back her reprimand, sitting still and shocked as he glared at her.

"I'd let the man talk, little sister." Tayuya whispered in her ear.

"I am done listening to you and taking your crap!" He spat. "All you do is bitch and moan, and the one time I try to do the right thing, you get pissed! You couldn't have just left; you just had to be a fucking bitch about everything!"

She opened her mouth to say something but couldn't vocalise it. Her lip quivered and she looked away from him. He turned to glare at everyone else in the room.

At a nod from Tayuya, Suigetsu was released and he stood up, rubbing his wrists. "I'm done here."

He walked around the table, heading for the door, when a small voice stopped him.

"Wait."

He glanced down at her and she looked up, "Please?"

Once more he glanced around the room, sending the rest of her "family" scurrying for the exit. Then he pushed the table away, leaning against it as he stood in front of her and crossed his arms.

"If you're going to say something, you should get on with it." He stated with a bored tone.

"I…"

"What?"

"I just…"

"You just what?"

"I just wanted you to ask again." She finished quietly, lowering her head so she couldn't see him.

Suigetsu stared at her for a moment, in shock, then his mouth set in a firm line and he stalked away from her. He didn't leave the room; when he reached a wall, he turned and walked to another. He couldn't believe she had the audacity to say that to him. His hand strayed to his pocket, where he'd been carrying the ring ever since that ill-fated night.

Finally, he approached the table, opposite her, and slammed his hands down on it.

"You want me to ask again? After you humiliated me in front of everyone we know?" He yelled, "After you ran away and refused to talk to me for over a week?"

She flinched away from his anger, still unable to face him. He stood up, a fist clenched around the small velvet box.

"Alright, Karin. I'll ask again." He snarled, "This is me asking!"

Her head snapped up and he watched in slow motion as the small box went flying towards her head. She blinked in surprise as it struck her between the eyes, forcing her head back before ricocheting off her glasses and onto the table.

He held his breath, waiting for her to explode, because there was no way his Karin would let that one slide. She'd be a towering, fiery volcano of fury that destroyed everything in her path.

"Ow."

It was such a quiet, sad, little exclamation, accompanied by a small sob, that all the fight went out of him and he slumped down on his chair. The silence was only broken by her quiet sniffles as he stared at her, and she stared at the table.

Soon it became too much for him and he put his face in his hands, propping his elbows on the table.

"I don't get it, Karin." He groaned, "If you were going to say yes, why didn't you just say yes?"

She bit her lip, trying to swallow her sobs and blink away her tears. But her tough façade was long gone and all she managed was a quiet, "I don't know."

Both jumped when the door burst open and Orochimaru strode in. He took in the scene quite quickly.

"For goodness' sake, boy! Couldn't you have at least untied her?"

Suigetsu sat back, running his fingers idly along the table edge as he looked at a wall.

Orochimaru untied Karin and helped her to her feet. Then he guided her around the table, shooting Suigetsu pointed looks, telling him to stand up.

"Well, you've both made quite a mess of this." He said, sizing them up, "Now, last week, you wanted to marry her. Is that still the case?"

"I don't know." Suigetsu replied, finally bringing himself to look at her. "She never answered the question."

Karin's head shot up and she looked at him in surprise. Could it be that she hadn't completely ruined her chance? She glanced over at Orochimaru.

"It's not for me to answer this, Karin." He replied, misinterpreting her questioning glance, "You need to make the choice on your own."

She turned back to Suigetsu, and rolled her eyes. He grinned at her and held out his hand. She took a deep breath, rallied her courage, placing her hand in his, smiling as his fingers closed around hers.

He pulled her to him and whispered in her ear, "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

She laughed at him and he leaned in and kissed her, once, twice.

Orochimaru looked away only to see the velvet box sitting on the floor. He stooped to retrieve it but saw that things were becoming quite heated between the reunited lovers and so, absented himself from the room, leaving the ring on the table.

He walked out into the corridor and closed the door behind him. Most of his charges were waiting outside for the result and he nodded once in the affirmative. The boys erupted in a cheer while Tayuya grumbled, "It's about bloody time."

As he walked away, Orochimaru mentally crossed Karin off his list of "inmates".

"Now, how do I get the rest of them to move out?"


End file.
